Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach in any way, shape, or form. Please don't say I said otherwise, okay? I just write for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours as well.
Author's Note: This is what happens when I insult my muse. I won't be doing that again any time soon. Everyone please check out my packmates. HitsugayaKuchiki, Tropicallight, Spunky0ne, Timewaster123456789, TheDrunkenWerewolf, Salazar Marvolo, SesshomaruFreak, Henka-Chan, and Twisted Virtue are all very talented. Go show them some love.
Kisuke sighed again for what felt like the thousandth time in just a mere few minutes. He was perched on the rooftop with a clear view of Ichigo's bedroom. This was his recently developed nightly ritual. The disgraced ex captain took a personal interest in his protege. Said interest had more to do with the fact that the young man was clearly gifted in his abilities. His power was completely raw and untainted. It didn't matter that the shopkeeper had trained Ichigo and prepared him the best he could for invading Soul Society….without actually telling him the whole truth.
A truth that Ichigo should have been let in on before he was sent off to Soul Society. Plenty of details that he deserved to hear straight from the source instead of by word of mouth, even if that mouth belonged to his oldest friend. The very one who knew him from childhood and recommended him for a captains position. The only comfort being that what she disclosed was indeed fact. Yoruichi had no need or desire to lie anyhow. Kisuke honestly had no other objective except destroying the hogyoku. She was present for everything that had occured in first place. Being shrouded in secrecy did not serve any purpose except prove how much Kisuke truly had no trust for any outside of his comfort zone.
Yet he had watched-observed, really- this male lying in bed before him. He had been fully aware that Rukia had transferred her powers to him and an effort to assist him in protecting his family. The resulting events were not what she expected to happen, but Kisuke thought about what it meant and planned his next move. How was Rukia to know what affect her actions had? Since the results came as a complete surprise, he followed Ichigo's moves to gauge his skills and his way of coping with this unwanted situation. Of course he hadn't been too happy to know this great and important responsibility had been thrust on his shoulders. The orangette's only focus was to protect. So simple and noble. How innocently valiant of him. That's all Ichigo wanted. Desired.
Though a sadness primarily radiated from his being, that untainted will outshone even his darkest thoughts. Yes, Kisuke witnessed those crippling episodes of depression and despair the youth experienced. It just wasn't his place to step in. He kept a silent visual to ensure his safety. He couldn't let him deal with such serious feelings all by himself. Kisuke was wise enough to realize he physically wasn't the person who Ichigo needed in that moment. Again, he was always, always going to be silently lurking behind somewhere one way or another. He constantly had an ear to the ground, his eyes open in Ichigo's direction. His mind trained on his student and thoughts continually wrapped around the brown eyed substitute Shinigami. Someone so young with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Too much thrust on him without even being asked or anyone considering his feelings whatsoever.
Ichigo honestly amazed him. Despite being lied to over and over again he just wanted to get stronger for the sake of others. That burden he so selfishly carried on his own shoulders. Kisuke admire that about him more than he felt he should. Many other of the young one's attributes piqued his interest. He wasn't exactly sure how to deal with those feelings. Ichigo drew him in until he found himself stuck in the cage of a purely untainted aura. The struggles has not dampened his resolve at all. He did not harbor resentment or anger for being used for the shopkeeper's own personal gain. Perhaps it was for the best that things turned out differently. Having the utmost faith didn't look good when the deception behind such motives was revealed. The situation even worse still because Kisuke didn't tell the truth on his own. Yoruichi and Aizen clued him in.
Then this inexplicable need to protect Ichigo appeared. The very notion was foreign although it felt right all the same. Maybe this feeling sprung up out of his guilt. His shortcomings honestly could have caused Ichigo his very life due to his failure to confide in him completely. Going into a battle blindly is the absolute worst strategy imaginable! Any tactician knows that basic concept, and Kisuke totally disregarded that so easily. Or it very well might be the ex captain had that much faith in his protege that he knew everything would work itself out. Hm. Kisuke wondered if it really helped him sleep at night believing that thought. Though here he found himself again keeping a silent vigil over an oblivious Ichigo. Only at this time did he look at peace and relaxed.
Where the world didn't need a protector,
Where sisters did not need their older brother.
Friends were home themselves sleeping in their own beds. No one or anything disturbed well deserved rest. Ichigo was just a person like anyone else. His wildly erratic spiritual pressure drowned out by Kisukes. He took great measures to conceal Ichigo's the best he was able without drawing unwanted attention their way.
As if he'd actually voice his blatant use of spiritual pressure to lull the orangette to sleep. Kisuke hadn't intended to be this attached to Ichigo, but this is honestly the position he finds himself in. The shock of it had at first thrown him off. Here is a humble shopkeeper that has immense power and even greater intellect watching over the very one he spent so time molding. All the energy and care put into preparing him for a world he was too naive to look at with eyes as cynical as the grey ones waatching over him. But who knows...with Ichigo….the world often takes an unforseen turn.
Through it all Kisuke would guide Ichigo step by step. He'd do everything in his power, use evey single resource to his advantage to ensure Ichigos safety. Despite the life he was thrust into and the battles still to come, Kisuke made a promise to himself to always put the young man first. Always as he silently kept his eyes on him.